| Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar talks about THE GRUDGE. |
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| Friday, 22 October 2004 | |
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Oct. 22, 2004 Reporter by Joseph B. Mauceri Producers Sam Raimi (the director of such classics as The Evil Dead and Darkman and the blockbusters Spider-Man® and Spider-Man® 2), and Rob Tapert (The Gift, The Evil Dead) have ventured to Japan to work with producer Taka Ichise (Ringu and Dark Water) on a remake of the terrifyingly horror thriller, THE GRUDGE. Based on the Japanese hit ìJu-On,î the film deals with a curse that occurs when someone dies in the grip of a powerful rage. Those who encounter this murderous supernatural curse die and a new one is born ñ passed like a virus in an endless, growing chain of horror.  Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar plays Karen, an exchange student studying social work in Japan. She agrees to cover for a nurse who didnt show up for work and finds an elderly American woman, Emma (ZABRISKIE), who is lost in a catatonic state while the rest of the house appears deserted and disheveled. Within the house a chain of terror has been set in motion resulting from a terrifying evil. As more people die, Karen is pulled into the cycle of horror and learns the secret of the vengeful curse that has taken root in this house. Sarah Michelle Gellar is best known for her role as ëBuffy Summersíin ìBuffy the Vampire Slayer.î Gellarís career in the world of entertainment has spanned nearly 23 years. She won an Emmy in 1994 for her role on the ABC daytime drama ìAll My Childrenî and completed classes at the High School for the Performing Arts in New York one year ahead of schedule. Gellar starred in Columbia Picturesíhit thriller ìI Know What You Did Last Summerî and the blockbuster hit ìScream 2.î She won a 1998 Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ìSummerî and was nominated for a 1998 MTV Movie Award for her role in ìScream 2.î Her other television credits include ìAn Invasion of Privacy,î ìA Woman Named Jackie,î and other such feature films as ìFunny Farm,î ìOver The Brooklyn Bridgeî and ìHigh Stakes.î On stage, she starred opposite Matthew Broderick at Circle in the Square in ìJakeís Womenî and ìThe Widow Claireî at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. This native New York was recently in the Big Apple to talk about her experience of working abroad on director Takashi Shimizu English language remake of THE GRUDGE. FEARS: Are you a fan of Japanese horror films? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: I donít like to be genre-specific, but Iím a fan of the Japanese cinema. Itís an incredibly untapped market. American filmmakers constantlyÖ borrow from everyone. I kind of wondered when Hollywood would begin stealing from Asian films. Now it seems they remaking quite a few of their films, like ìThe Ring,î ìShall We Danceî and ìDark Water.î Iíve seen all the originals of those films. FEARS: Why did you decide to do this film at this point in your career? Sarah Michelle Gellar: It offered the opportunity to travel to Japan,to live there and learn about the culture, which is something I always wanted to do. For me, even a week somewhere isnít a vacation. You really donít get the chance to learn about a place until you are there for an extended period of time. I got to stay in Japan for three months and live there. It was also the first time in my life, after the television show, where I was on my own and making decisions based on what I wanted to do, instead of trying to plan things around my hiatus. It was cool to be part of the first Japanese film ever to be remade, by the Japanese director of the original with an all-Japanese crew, for an English speaking audience. It offered me the chance to work with Sam Raimi. To be part of a movie that by Hollywood standards would be considered inexpensive, but was the most expensive film ever shot in Japan, at Toho Studios where the Godzilla movies are made. It was a plethora of things. FEARS: Was there anything in particular that attracted you to the role? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: She was a character that was very different from anything Iíd ever done. She was not a confident girl. She was not adept and equipped to handle any situation. She was definitely in over her head. FEARS: Did working with a Japanese director, who speaks no English, present any challenges? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Not really. It was pretty easy. That surprised me because I had almost the same reaction. I had a little panic attack when I first got there.  You learn that the actor-director relationship is one of trust. He needs to trust me to bring his vision to the screen, and I need to trust him to lead me to that performance. Without language, you really have to learn to trust someone. You need to learn and be able to look into their eyes and really see if theyíre happy, or sad, or if you are giving them what theyíre looking for. It became very easy because we could tell just by looking at the director, without any words. In fact, by the end we did really need the translators. FEARS: Would you be in the sequel? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Iím not signed for a sequel but I know Sam wants to do one. I want to open the movie first. So show me a script, ask me to do it, and Iíll invest! FEARS: What frightens you? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Press Junkets! (Laughs) Having to talk about myself incessantly for weeks at a time! Thatís an honest answer. But I donít believe Iím a fearful person, and I donít feel that I live my life in fear. I look forward to challenges. Still growing up in New York, I think Iím afraid of the same things that most city girls are, like rats and roaches. FEARS: Was there any particular scene in the film that frightened you, like the shower scene? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: It was as creepy as any shower can be with 17 Japanese men joining you! It wasnít creepy so much as it was awkward. And I donít think it was as awkward for me as it was for the 17 Japanese men. As a culture in general, thatís a little overwhelming for them. FEARS: Have you ever had anything strange or scary happen to you? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Of course! Like when your keys disappear. You know you put them somewhere and then 5-minutes later they appear where you know you looked. I believe the emotions and feelings can transcend places. Some times you can walk into a hotel room and you can feel something happened there, like with a house. I believe those kinds of emotions can linger. I think everybody has had some kind of experience like that. Itís just a matter of how open you are to it. Thereís always a logical explanation for something, but there are times when things happen it the only explanation seems to be an illogical one. Some times it just comes down to where you are emotionally that influences what the answer is for you. FEARS: Is there anything in particular that draws you to the horror genre?  SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: The horror genre seems to be where actresses can shine, like Naomi Watts in ìThe Ring.î The last two Best Actress winners went on to do genre films. Halle Berry did ìGothikaî and Charlize Theron is staring in ìAeon Flux.î Being on Buffy really spoiled me because itís so rare to have a female protagonist like that. Women drive television but I think they have a long way to go in terms of films. FEARS: Given Buffy, and the other horror films youíve appeared in, would you consider yourself a ìScream Queen?î SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Is that what I am? I think there a lot of people who do many different roles, and for me itís all about going where the good roles are for women. I donít care where they are. I couldnít be the girlfriend or the wife because I would be so unbelievably bored by that. This particular genre seems to be one where women can drive story. FEARS: Whatís next? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: First a vacation. Then I hope to do this Richard Kelly project. This movie raised the bar so high for me and I learned that I donít have to jump into anything. For 15 years I didnít know it was ok to take projects slowly. FEARS: What is the biggest ting youíve had to adapt to since the television show ended and would you ever consider doing another television series? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: The down time. I came from always juggling school and working, from ìAll My Childrenî and right into ìBuffy.î I donít think I knew what an adult life was. I didnít make plans two-weeks in advance. I did know what you were supposed to do on a day you didnít have to work. In the beginning it was shocking and I really hated it. Iíd said to myself that I wanted to take four months off. I didnít quite make it, but that was my goal. The first couple of weeks I was crawling the walls. Then I got kind of use to it. The other thing is not seeing the same people every day. That was eight-years. Iím only 26 years old and thatís a long time for me. Thatís pretty much my entire adult life. In terms of working on another television series, I would definitely not consider one in the next five years. I just physically canít do it.  FEARS: Were you happy with the way ìBuffyî ended? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Yes and no. I believe the finale of ìBuffyî should have been two hours. I think a lot of the characters, specifically Xander, didnít get enough screen time. But I loved the idea that she was going full circle and sharing her power. I know some stuff had to get cut like a scene where I was walking down a hall in the high school having flashbacks so it was fun seeing all of us from eight years ago. FEARS: Any interest in your part in doing a ìBuffyî movie if the producers called? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Iíll be honest; I have a lot of hesitation. It was a movie. It didnít work as a film. I thought it was an okay film with great actors in it. I think that is because itís a story that works better over longer periods of time. In terms of characters, with a film youíre dealing with less time and I know we would disappoint people. You canít squeeze everyone into an hour and 40 minutes. I say that now, but two-years from now I cold see a script, feel I got to do it, and we could be here discussing the movie. However, never say never! But I donít know why you would do it. We told some many great stories that had archís to them. To me, that how the show worked. FEARS: Going back to finales, I know a lot of people were disappointed that you didnít appear in the ìAngelî finale. SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: Well, commuting would have been a little difficult! (Laughs) But that was something I did try to make it work. Itís hard when you do a television show for 8 years. You live, eat, and breath that show. I think itís important, as a person, that when the show is done you need to take a step back, But, I am very proud of the show, and very proud of what we did for women and television. People ask me if I get tired of talking about it and my answer is no. Iím proud of it. FEARS: I was wondering why you havenít really contributed to the commentary for the DVDs? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: They always did the commentary during the show. I was working constantly, with 3 units. There was simply never time. You tell a line-producer that they need me for 2 hours to do commentary and he is going to freak. Thatís why I didnít do it during the show. If I had any free time, if for some reason I was getting a day off, I was taking it. I was exhausted! For 8 years I talked about ìBuffyî non-stop, and when youíre doing a film that time is worked into your schedule. I will tell you that over the last 2 years DVD commentary is something that Iíve come to appreciate. Especially now, because Iím working in films, I can understand the need for show scenes that were cut and hearing the filmmakers talk about those choices. However, scenes donít really get cut on a television show. At most, you lose a line here and there. I think itís interesting that directors can show you these great scenes and talk about them because back in the day when your scene was cut that was it. 
FEARS: I understand that the producers of ìBuffyî are working on
an animated series and there was some talk about you not being
interested in it? SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR: It had to do with commitment. The joke is that I am a commitment phob-actor right now. I was nothing but contractually bound for years. I donít do something unless I commit 110%. I just can say that 3 times a month I could actually do an animate show. Also, I donít know how our audience will feel about the animate series. You never want to inundate. I think that ìBuffyî went out when it was still on top. We all came back in that last season and showed we were all still interested in doing the show. I was really happy. I donít why then you go back and do an animate series. I know the pitch to me was that she could turn into things and she had new magical powers. To me, that wasnít what Buffy was about. She was a real girl and these were metaphors for real demons. This was bout how the demons of high school become these monsters. So Iím not sure why you make an animate show. Plus, no one showed me script and I was out of town. LINK THIS ARTICLE             |
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